Communication networks have migrated from using specialized networking equipment executing on dedicated hardware, like routers, firewalls, and gateways, to software defined networks (SDNs) executing as virtualized network functions (VNF) in a cloud infrastructure. To provide a service, a set of VNFs may be instantiated on the general purpose hardware. Each VNF may require one or more virtual machines (VMs) to be instantiated.
One benefit of cloud computing is the elastic nature of the cloud and the ability to share resources among users and/or spin up virtual resources on demand. Elasticity of resources extends to processing power, storage, bandwidth, virtual functions, and virtual machines. The amount of resources that can be sourced through cloud computing incorporates nearly all facets of computing from raw processing power to storage space. Increasingly, customers are demanding mini-cloud structures to provide localized cloud platforms. The mini-cloud structure may be implemented with Universal Customer Premises Equipment (uCPE) when provided at a customer site.
Presently, deployment of virtual network function topology within a mini-cloud is largely a manual process. While the creation of virtual machines (VM), virtual network functions (VNFs), and virtual channels may be automated, there is a manual handover from one automated step to another. In addition, there is no centralized end to end deployment plan or automation to guide the overall topology deployment. It will be appreciated that such a plan must encompass multiple VNFs that need to be deployed and chained within the uCPE. Currently, a network administrator or other person responsible for the deployment of the uCPE must use a service design tool to compose the VNF topology including making individual and explicit action requests on a master service orchestrator (MSO) for deployment and activation of uCPE and each VNF. The person must also determine any chaining relationships between VNFs and develop a sequence for creating the VNFs and chaining them together.
The disclosure includes examples addressing at least one of these problems.